Confessions of a Blanket-aholic: Aden and Anais Dream Blankets Review

One of my obsessions….. blankets. Lots of cozy, soft, fun, bright, colorful blankets. I think it’s my love of fabrics that draws me in particular to baby and kid blankets. I actually have a closet stash of beautiful fabrics waiting to become something someday when I get a sewing machine, know how to sew, and have oodles of extra time on my hands. Blankets are an easy way to satisfy that fabric love for now since there are so many great ones out there. My favorite place to look for blankets is Etsy. You can find anything from hand-quilted, hand-me-down-to-my-great-grandkids-type of blankets, like the one I had made for Henry’s bed, to simple stroller blankets in any gorgeous fabric you can think of.

Custom quilt from Etsy

My newest blanket collection additions are aden and anais dream blankets. For the record, it’s pronounced “ay-den” and “uh-nay” (I got funny looks at a store when I asked about “aden and anus”).

These blankets are expensive and it took awhile before I splurged on one. I first started liking aden and anais because of their lightweight, soft, cotton muslin swaddlers. They are a generous size, have multiple uses and not too-cutesy prints. I then moved onto the burp cloths and bibs which were soft, but being made out of the same lightweight muslin, didn’t really keep any actual liquids from soaking right through to James’ clothes or my shoulder. Then I ventured onto their website after hearing about a sale, and came across dream blankets. They really did look dreamy, especially in the silky rayon bamboo, and after reading some reviews I decided I wanted to try one. The price? $50-$70 just for the baby size. No way! I stopped lusting and closed the webpage.

Of course being a blanket-aholic, I ended up getting one on eBay several months later. And then another…. and another. Because 1) aden and anais is a slippery slope, and 2) I found out that they carry an adult size “daydream” blanket and I had to have one. Now that I’ve had three dream blankets for awhile, I thought I’d share my thoughts for anyone thinking of splurging on one.

Details:

The dream blankets are 47″ x 47″ and come in 4 fabics: 4-layer cotton muslin, organic cotton muslin, bamboo rayon, and merino wool. I won’t be talking about merino at all because it’s new on their site and it’s $400! The other ones retail for $49.95 to $69.95 depending on the fabric.

The daydream blankets are 60″ x 72″ and come in 2 fabrics: cotton muslin and bamboo rayon. They retail for $125 to $149.95.

I have both a cotton muslin and a bamboo rayon dream blanket and a bamboo rayon daydream blanket. I bought all of them on eBay for a steal, so it’s worth looking there if you want one.

Bamboo Rayon Daydream Blanket

Bamboo Rayon Dream Blanket

Cotton Muslin Dream Blanket

Pros:

Both the dream blankets and daydream blankets are very generously sized. The dream blankets are large enough to cuddle under with both me and my two kids and the daydream blanket is large enough for our whole family to snuggle under.

The cotton muslin dream blanket feels just like the swaddlers, if you’d seen those, except that it’s 4 layers instead of 1. This gives it a nice weight, although it’s still very light and airy. It’s a great summer-weight blanket for anywhere I went.

The bamboo rayon dream blanket and daydream blanket are super soft, silky and slinky. It has a luxurious feel that I haven’t seen in any other blankets.

Cons:

The cotton muslin dream blanket is not as soft as I thought it would be. It’s nice and airy, but probably no softer than any other cotton muslin products out there.

The bamboo rayon blankets feel a bit fragile and after only 1 wash have some loose threads. I only use them at home and they aren’t blankets that I would take to the park or the beach.

Comparison:

We tend to use the bamboo rayon blankets more and my son loves to use them because they are larger than the other throw blankets we have. They are super silky and feel different than any of our other blankets. However, we use the cotton muslin one out of the house more because it’s so lightweight yet large. It makes a perfect carseat or stroller blanket and because it has a breathable weave, it doesn’t get too hot and I’m not worried about my baby suffocating in it or anything.

All in all, if you are looking for something a bit different and have some money to burn, or want to give someone a nice gift idea, the bamboo rayon blankets are really nice if you don’t mind that they are a bit fragile-seeming. If you love aden and anais muslin swaddlers and just want something a bit heavier, get a muslin dream blanket. It’s not as soft, but more durable feeling and more versatile. They are both available often on eBay, Amazon, and on the aden + anais website.